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Thanks to its history and unique culture, the Kansai region offers an unparalleled variety of Japanese cuisine. In addition to the local specialties of Osaka, Kobe, and Nara, Kansai has the same inexpensive chain restaurants as Tokyo and a good variety of international food. Outside tourist areas, restaurant staff may not speak English but often exhibit Kansai’s signature friendliness, going out of their way to help.
If there is one food Osaka is known for, it is okonomiyaki, a savory pancake that can be filled with vegetables, meat, or seafood. Mizuno, opened in 1945, is one of the city's best and oldest places to try this hearty specialty. Mizuno's okonomiyaki are light and fluffy, using a variety of ingredients delivered from Osaka's Kuromon Market. Sitting at the long teppan counter grill you can watch as the chef whips up a hearty taste of Osaka before your eyes. Long lines form around lunch and dinnertime, but move rather quickly.
Pungent nara-zuke will lure you into this well-known shop and adjoining restaurant. Inside, white-capped prep cooks busily prepare packages of pickles that you can try with cha-gayu (green-tea porridge) or a meal of crispy tempura. The set menus are on display, making ordering simple. This is a good place to escape the crowds on Higashi-muki Dori, the main shopping street. Nara Kintetsu Station and Nara Koen are within a five-minute walk.
It may look like a hole-in-the-wall from the outside, but this tiny cash-only restaurant serves up some of Osaka's finest akashi-yaki, a much fluffier and more delicate take on the city's famous grilled octopus. The staff are friendly and helpful. In addition to akashi-yaki, the shop also serves up excellent gyoza (fried meat-filled dumplings) and ika-yaki (grilled squid). It also carries a good selection of local sake.
In the basement of Kita-Shinichi's Aspa (Takagawa Umeda) Building, the hip, low-ceilinged Bat-ten Yokato serves a wide selection of very good yakitori (skewered meat and vegetables) in a fun, cozy atmosphere. Sitting at the long bar, you can watch the cooks work and call out requests. In addition to the quality of the food, the fact that the staff is obviously having a good time makes this an excellent place to try one of the most popular foods in Japan.
Located on a quiet backstreet just a short walk south of Horyu-ji's Great Eastern Gate, this low-key yet stylish café offers delicious lunch sets, including very local specialties such as tatsuta-age (a type of fried chicken) and deep-fried ofu (steamed wheat gluten). The café also has its own woodwork studio and shop, with a number of robot-themed wooden toys on display.
Dining at the Swissôtel's flagship restaurant is an elegant escape from the crowds of Osaka. The seasonal kaiseki dinners are presented with exquisite attention to detail, bringing out the flavor of each ingredient. The restaurant offers separate seating at the sushi bar, tempura counter, and even four private rooms. Choose from one of the seasonal set menus, or put your dinner in the hands of the skilled chefs. The staff are also happy to serve Kobe beef from Minami, the hotel's teppanyaki restaurant.
This eatery's kamitsumichi bento box, with a selection of sashimi, fried shrimp, tofu, vegetables, and homemade plum liqueur, is a bargain. Harishin is traditional and quite rustic. You sit in either a large tatami room overlooking a garden or around a large irori (hearth).
There's no better place to try Osaka's kappo-ryori (a more intimate, less formal version of kaiseki-ryori) than the restaurant that started the trend. Chef and owner Osamu Ueno scours the markets daily to find the best ingredients for dinner each evening. The menu here is a constantly rotating selection of à la carte items, all superb. If you're unsure about what to order, simply leave it up to the chef for a delightful dinner. The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff, with counter seating and two private rooms for small groups.
Hidden down a quiet street just south of Ara-ike in Nara Koen is this intimate restaurant serving exquisitely presented traditional kaiseki meals. Within the faded wooden walls, a common architectural motif in Nara, you can sit at a rustic counter or in one of two serene tatami rooms. Choose from one of the two set meals. Both lunch and dinner here are short and served early (noon–1 for lunch, 6–7:30 for dinner).
Deep in the forest behind Kasuga Taisha, Tsukihitei has the perfect setting for a traditional kaiseki meal. From the walk up a wooded path to the tranquillity of your own tatami room, everything here is conducive to experiencing the beautiful presentation and delicate flavors—as Helen Keller did when she dined here in 1948. When reserving a table, enlist the help of a good Japanese speaker to select a set meal for you, and allow yourself to be regaled. The lunch sets cost between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000—not exactly cheap, but cheaper than dinner.
In a little 1920s farmhouse just north of Ara-ike pond in Nara Koen this delightful restaurant with dark beams and pottery-lined walls serves delicious home-style cooking. Everything is prepared from scratch. The lunch course with fried fish, tofu, and seasonal vegetables is delightful. As there is only one set meal, ordering is no problem.
For a real taste of Osaka, line up for kushi katsu (skewered meats and vegetables) outside Shin Sekai's Yaekatsu. This no-frills, counter-only restaurant has the reputation of being one of Osaka's oldest and best places to get kushi katsu. At dinner the line stretches the length of the shop, so arrive early or be prepared to wait. Yaekatsu is in Shin Sekai's Jan Jan Yokocho shopping street. Coming from Dobutsuen-mae Station, the shop is halfway down the shopping street on your left. The large red-and-white sign is only in Japanese, but pretty easy to spot.
Specializing in Japanese sweets and elegant bento-box meals, Yanagi-jaya's secluded tatami rooms and peacful garden transports diners to a bygone age. It can be found among the trees on a street corner, just a short walk east along the path from Kofukuji's Five-Storied Pagoda.
This is one of Osaka's best known fugu (blowfish) restaurants. There are now branches in other parts of town, but this location is the original. In addition to fugu sashimi, the store has fugu nabe (hot pot) and many other varieties. For less-adventurous diners Zuboraya serves a range of Japanese foods, like sushi, tempura, and shabu-shabu.
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